Anarchist Communists: A Question Of Class

Anarkismo.net is publishing in installments the new theoretical pamphlet produced by the Italian Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici. Each installment will be added as a separate article and linked from this page. Readers are invited to make their comments and observations under each installment.

The Theory of the FdCA represents the unique, united and characteristic identity of the Federation. It sets out the Federation's revolutionary role and its political function as historical memory and active minority, a role which has been indicated by the experience of the revolutionary proletariat throughout the history of the class struggle.

Anarchist Communism is not the pure fruit of some intellectual adventure. It is not the result, happy as it may be, of certain individuals who, sheltered from history, have meditated on humanity's destiny. It is not the (generous) answer of a few utopians to the ills of contemporary society and to its patent injustices. It is not the search for an ideal of perfection which can satisfy the need for harmony of minds requiring abstract ponderings....

The Federation of Anarchist Communists (FdCA) was founded in 1985 on the principle of the theoretical and strategic unity of its members, a principle which it still holds to and will continue to do so. This principle means that the FdCA is based on its positions which are shared by the entire federated membership.

These positions are set out in a number of original Theoretical Documents which represent the unity of the Federation and its policies. They also represent the unity of its militants, federated into a single political organization and individually and collectively responsible for the political life and the political decisions of the
FdCA.

Our Theoretical Documents are divided into Theory, Basic Strategy, Political Strategy and General Tactics.

The documents which go to make up our Theory represent the unique, united and characteristic identity of the Federation. They set out the Federation's revolutionary role and its political function as historical memory and active minority, a role which has been indicated by the experience of the revolutionary proletariat throughout the history of the class struggle.

Our Theory currently consists of two documents:
"Teoria dei Comunisti Anarchici" and "Comunisti Anarchici: Una questione di
classe". This booklet is a translation of the latter of these documents which was first published in 2003.

Basic Strategy consists of those documents which set out the long-term strategic role of our class enemies the role of the mass organization and the political organization and the tasks of these organizations during the transition to communism. Political Strategy consists of documents which set out in the short term the social, political and economic context of the class struggle and the strategic role of the mass organizations and the political organization, while our General Tactics are concerned with the immediate role of these organizations within the current context of the class struggle.

This system of Theoretical Documents was conceived so that the FdCA would always be in a position to understand the nature of its role and its actions and so that it can engage in a continuing process of strategic reflection and analysis, learning always from the class struggle, promoting internal debate and thereby avoiding ideological rigidity.

On our website at www.fdca.it you can find most of our Theoretical Documents in Italian and several documents of Basic Strategy and General Tactics also available in English.

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Comments (4 of 4)

This is very exciting. I went to the website and read portions of the pamphlet and thought that while it was extremely thorough, it also covered the subject matter very succinctly.

In fact, the CTC is developing a study series, "Anarchism 101" primarily for new members and others who do not have much experience with anarchist theory. I am going to reccommend that we use this work over the course of several months. This might work well with the plans about releasing this on Anarkismo over a period of time.

Here are the replies to a couple of questions we have received about this text.

How did the FdCA adopt this text?
The text was adopted by consensus, having met with general approval within the Federation (a classic example of "theoretical unity"!) and judged to be consistent with the FdCA's existing document of Theory, "La Teoria dei Comunisti Anarchici". "Anarchist Communists: A Question Of Class" was produced following a series of internal educational talks in 2002-03 in Genoa and Cremona, organized by the FdCA for its members and supporters. On completion it was published in the organization's Internal Bulletin for debate and amendment, a process which is used for every document the FdCA publishes.

Who wrote it?
The document was written by our comrade Saverio Craparo, a member of the FdCA Studies Office and one of the principal participants of the internal education talks series (see above). The comrade in question was requested by several members to undertake the task. During the preparation of the document, he regularly consulted with other members of the FdCA.

Was the text adopted by the FdCA on its formation?
No. It was adopted through the process already described in 2004 and, together with the document "La Teoria dei Comunisti Anarchici" (previously adopted by the FdCA at its founding Congress in 1985, though written in 1976), it now forms part of our Theory. More detailed documents regarding some of the subjects dealt with in the text can be found in the "Organization" section of our website, under the heading "Basic Strategy Documents".

As far as we know this has never been translated into Spanish. Several years ago I know that some Argentine comrades were translating FdCA material, however I do not know if they did this text, and I have unfortunately lost contact with them.